


dreams of the stars in another world

by phendrifts



Series: tales from the farlands [3]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, fiora deserved a more interesting arc so here we go, regeneration machine concept is from monado secret files
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25228972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phendrifts/pseuds/phendrifts
Summary: fiora finds herself in the hospital after regenerating a homs body.
Series: tales from the farlands [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1825357
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	dreams of the stars in another world

The first thing Fiora did when she climbed out of the regeneration machine was fall.

Dunban was the first to help her up, and when she was finally able to stand up properly, Fiora found herself amidst a sea of worried faces.

“I’m fine, you guys,” she turned and waved her hand as if to dispel the soreness she felt across all of her joints. “I don’t need you all worrying about me.”

Linada suggested the girl take a few more weeks in the hospital for rehab. Though she had her reservations-- she wanted to experience the new world she had fought so hard for --there was no denying she needed time to get used to her new body. 

* * *

Her first and most frequent visitor was Dunban. Sometimes they would talk for hours, sometimes they wouldn’t exchange a single word. It didn’t matter to Fiora-- the most important thing was that he was there when she needed him.

Through him, Fiora began to learn about New Colony 9 and the reconstruction efforts. When Dunban spoke of an open spot for representative of the Homs, Fiora urged him to fill the role; she knew that her older brother was dying to be back in some leadership position.

In exchange, Fiora told Dunban about how the rehabilitation had been: how she was slowly learning just how different her mechanical body was from her organic one. As a Homs, she was constantly susceptible to aches and pains all over. (While she did see them as a inconvenience, she took it with a hearty smile: “It’s what lets me know I’m alive, after all!”) 

Dunban was happy to see her sister taking everything in stride, but he could also see every little thing she tried to hide from him. It wasn’t often, but once in a while, she would let a little thing slip. She’d drop spoons at random intervals, she would find herself out of breath even after talking as slowly as she could. Fiora insisted that she was fine, and Dunban courteously decided not to press any further. 

* * *

“Oh, Dunban.” Linada called one night after he left Fiora’s hospital room. “Could you see me in my office, please?” She neglected to make eye contact. 

They walked in silence until they were in private. Solemnly, the Machina doctor took the seat across from him and began to explain what had been going on during Fiora’s time at the hospital.

“Listen, Dunban, something’s wrong with Fiora. Her body and mind… They’re experiencing dissonance. Something in Fiora’s psyche is going wrong, and I’m not entirely sure what it is. Her brain scans have shown that everything’s still operating, so this must be something Fiora is dealing with by herself.”

“What do you mean?” Dunban leaned forward in his chair, brow furrowed. 

“The regeneration machine was supposed to supply her with the body and organs she had been taken from during the Face transfer. Ultimately, the regeneration was successful, but her brain is feeling disconnected from her new body. She’s experiencing motor problems, frequent headaches, nausea.” 

Linada massaged her temple with two fingers and sighed. “Dunban, this is old technology. Machina and High Entia doctors haven’t had the chance to study this in hundreds of years. We don’t know what to do or how to fix this. If we’re being optimistic, it could just be nothing, a short-term side effect from the machine. But on the other hand…”

“On the other hand, what?” Dunban asked, and Linada could hear his normally steady voice caving, just a little, to fear.

“I talked to Vanea, and she suggested it might be because of the two consciousnesses that were put into Fiora’s head. It was a dangerous operation to begin with- normally, consciousnesses are completely erased before a soul transfer. However, Meyneth because had insisted on not removing Fiora entirely from her body, Fiora had been operating with, essentially, two minds in the same body.”

Dunban nodded. He recalled the voice he had once heard coming from Face Nemesis- the voice he came to knew as Meyneth. 

“Using Meyneth’s Monado as a life support, this was not a problem for her old body. After Meyneth’s passing, Fiora lived off of the leftover power from Meyneth’s Monado. She was able to harness not only the remnants of Meyneth’s power, but the remnants of her consciousness as well.”

“And now, in her Homs body…” Dunban said in realization. 

“And now, she’s been entirely stripped of both. Her body cannot possibly handle the withdrawal she’s feeling, and it’s causing Fiora damage to her mind.” 

“What’s going to happen to her? Will she…?”

“Again, we’re not sure. This is entirely new ground- but we’re trying everything we can. However, if her consciousness slips from her body completely,” Linada bit her lip. “Fiora could be stuck in a deep comatose state for the rest of her life.” 

The two sat in silence. After a while, they exchanged goodbyes and parted ways. 

* * *

Though Fiora found rehabilitation harder and harder, she still was bright and cheery every morning. She found herself tripping often as she re-learned how to walk, but she was more than excited to get back on her feet. Even more exciting than that, however, was eating again! The first few weeks of rehab were strictly simple brothy-type foods, but she was finally able to test her taste buds with some more palatable meals. Which was perfect timing when, to Fiora’s surprise, Reyn came barging into her hospital room with a pot and a big smile. 

Reyn happily announced that he was learning how to cook! Shulk was not willing to let him into their shared kitchen after a few ‘incidents’ (Fiora raised an eyebrow at that word) but eventually they both agreed that they couldn’t live off the same roasted meat meals they were used to from the duo’s time living off the land. 

The curry that Reyn had so proudly presented wasn’t the best she’d ever had: the carrots were cut a little too big, the curry itself was too thick, and it was far, far too spicy for her taste, but overall, she was pleasantly surprised. 

For the remainder of his stay, the childhood friends joked about trivial things. The way Dunban would slowly nod off whenever you told him about your day, the impossibly difficult exercises the Colonel puts Reyn through every day, and the strange resurgence of the phrase ‘What on Bionis?!’ Though it felt nice to laugh again, Fiora was struggling to stay awake by the time Linada came in and the friends realized just how late it was. Reyn left with a salute and a promise to drag Shulk along the next time he came to visit. 

Fiora, left alone in her hospital room once again, let her mind wander. Out of the regeneration machine, Fiora’s head felt a significant amount lighter. After a few days, she realized that although she retained her memories of Meyneth’s time inhabiting her body, she no longer could recall the thousands of years of memories that she had also inherited from Meyneth. Though it was technically the ‘natural order of things’, Fiora couldn’t help but feel like a significant portion of her was missing. Linada would assure her that this was natural, but at night, Fiora would find herself sleepless, staring at the body she had regenerated. 

Fiora would never forget the first and last time she saw Meyneth, beautiful and poignant as she protected Shulk and her from a deadly blow from Zanza. Fiora would never forget Meyneth’s parting words, and how during the final battle those same words rang loudly in her ears. Fiora would never forget the courage that Meyneth inspired in not only Shulk and the others, but herself. Without Meyneth, Fiora felt… weak. 

Fiora’s gaze shifted towards the ceiling. She finally gave into her body’s overwhelming tiredness and slowly closed her eyes.

The next morning, Linada would come into the room to check on Fiora’s vitals when she noticed. She gently tried to shake the girl awake, but the sinking feeling in her heart told her Fiora wasn’t going to wake up.

 _Wake up, Fiora…_ Linada thought to herself. _I don’t know what’s been ailing you, but I know you can fight it._

* * *

When Shulk eventually did come, Fiora was still asleep. Linada had told him that Fiora was just overworked by rehabilitation and had to have these extended sleeps to regain her energy. Shulk sat by her side in silence for a few minutes. He couldn’t help but recall those days in Junks where Fiora would spend hours on end unconscious while Linada tinkered on her body. Shulk tentatively placed his gift, a Fatal Belladonna, on her windowsill.

“It’s one of your favorites… Er, I think. I found it in a cold cavern. It’s incredible how it managed to survive in there…” his voice trailed off. Fiora didn’t respond.

Unsure of what else to do, Shulk continued talking. While he had learned to give the abridged version of stories whenever he spoke to Reyn and Dunban, he had always felt comfortable talking a lot whenever he was with Fiora. First, he apologized for being late to visit, citing something or another about a joint cartography trip outside the colony (he could almost hear her saying, “Why was your research more important than seeing me at the hospital?”) He talked about the phenomenon of changing weather, and the struggles that the people in the colony were facing. He told her about how Dunban was doing as the Homs representative, and how Reyn’s cooking kept getting better. As he talked, he observed the flower that he had placed on her window change color in a golden sunset.

"Fiora... We're all looking forward to see you again."

Shulk glanced back at Fiora, her face ever peaceful as she slumbered. Figuring that there was nothing else he could do, Shulk excused himself to no one in particular, and left the hospital as sunset turned to darkness. 

* * *

Fiora found herself in a strange dream. Her feet lightly touched down on the surface of a large waterfall. Peering over the edge, she saw nothing but an endless void. Fear gripped her heart, and she stumbled backwards, falling onto the surface of the water. 

_This isn’t… me._ She realized, her eyes falling on her hands. She was somehow once again back in her mechanical body, but it felt foreign. She could once again feel the pain of mechanical joints. The way her body whirred when she moved, the unnatural rhythm of her heart, and the claustrophobic feeling like metal was constantly clamping down on her. 

The water surged forward, and Fiora found herself moving closer and closer to the edge. She tried to get up, but felt that her joints were too heavy to move. She screamed for Dunban to help, but there was no response. The void began speaking, calling for Fiora to join in eternal nothingness. It was Fiora’s voice that was calling her, but it sounded composed, almost relaxed. Fiora could barely find the strength to lift her hands up to her ears to drown out the noise. Behind her, a giant wave crashed, and she found herself slipping off the edge of the waterfall. Going, going, gone. 

* * *

_This world belongs to you all._ Meyneth’s voice echoed all around the abyss. Fiora felt herself to reach out to the familiar, and opened her eyes to a world that she had seen in a lighter dream. It was the space above Prison Island, with bright stars and jagged rocks stretching as far as she could imagine. In the distance, a giant white ball shone prominently. 

_I’m sorry, Meyneth._ Fiora thought to herself. _I couldn’t carry on your legacy._

“Why do you cling so tightly to the life of another?” A voice called. It wasn’t her own, yet it was still familiar. 

“What do you mean?” she spoke. As she stood, she was slightly comforted to see herself back in a Homs body.

“Meyneth no longer wished to perpetuate her existence. She had shed her immortality and, in exchange, achieved peace knowing that she had placed the future of this world in new hands.” Wisps of light swirled in front of Fiora, and out of it stepped a figure she still couldn’t see clearly. “You are not Meyneth. You must not burden yourselves with the sorrows of a god.”

“But what am I supposed to do?” Fiora asked. “Even with the power Meyneth entrusted to me, I couldn’t save anyone. Like Egil…”

“Meyneth did not entrust you with strength, Fiora. That strength was latent in you from the beginning.”

“You’re wrong. Back at the Colony… I let that Face Mechon--” she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence. “I couldn’t protect Shulk and the others.” 

“That was outside the margin of fate. Not everyone in this world can be saved.”

"I’m… still weak in this body.”

“You feel weak because you have convinced yourself that you need Meyneth to be strong.” Stepping out of the light, Alvis looked down at her. Not with pity or scorn, but with understanding.

“It is quite the opposite. Meyneth needed your strength to exist in this world. The fact that you remained functional long after Meyneth’s Monado was taken from your body is proof of this.”

“Alvis?” Fiora stared incredulously. “What are you?”

“It is time to decide. Do you wish to remain here, the resting place of Meyneth’s consciousness, or would you like to live the rest of your life as a Homs?”

Back in the hospital room, Fiora opened her eyes.

* * *

The remaining time spent in the hospital was a blur. Over the next few weeks Fiora’s rehab exercises showed encouraging results: Fiora was completely in tune with her new body, often finding herself dancing and walking down the halls with a smile in her step. Linada couldn’t help but smile watching Fiora regain her full strength. 

To ensure Fiora’s recovery was stable, visits from non-family members were kept to a minimum (that didn’t stop Shulk and Reyn from trying to hoist a ladder through her room window, however) and Linada popped in far more frequently to check her vitals. Despite all of the new restrictions, however, she felt immensely more happy. Dunban was overjoyed to see Fiora back to her normal springy self, though he would never let her show it. Two weeks turned to two days turned to two hours until finally she was allowed to be released. To Dunban’s protests, she wanted to be alone when she was out of the hospital for the first time-- the festivities and all that could come later for all she cared, Fiora wanted to be alone with the body she had earned the right to live in. The body that Meyneth would’ve wanted her to live in.

The first thing Fiora did once she stepped out of the hospital was run. 

Fiora wasn’t the fastest runner back in the colony, but Shulk and Reyn couldn’t hold a candle to her speed once she got going. She had memories of triumphant victories whenever the three would race to Dunban’s house after long days of playing at the beach. And right now, running through the streets of the colony, she felt weightless. She couldn’t help but smile as she sped past familiar faces, who in return stared back at her in awe. 

Her Mechon body had been more than functional- before, she felt completely as one with it, feeling the overflowing power left over from the body’s previous inhabitant as she wielded her swords. Now, she was stripped away from everything that the body had provided- not only Meyneth’s courage, powers, and memories, but the anxiety of rejection, the fear of oblivion, and two lifetimes of sorrows. On this cool autumn night, she had thrown it all away and became one with the wind.

The breeze felt so good. 

**Author's Note:**

> i meant to make continuity with shulk being absent on the cartography trip (see: "solace from the storm") but i completely forgot i mentioned fiora visiting him in that fic so just pretend that line didn't happen ok


End file.
